Vendors said to be working on ARM/Android notebooks

Several major vendors, including Acer, Toshiba, Asus and Samsung, are reportedly planning to introduce ARM-based notebooks.

The ARM-books will use Android and there’s even a chance they will show up by the end of the year. It all reminds us of the smartbook concept, which amounted to nothing two years ago. However, this time around vendors at least have a proper OS to go with the hardware, and the hardware itself has evolved to include dual-core processors at higher clocks. With quad-core ARMs entering the fray shortly, vendors might have a bit more luck.

The advantages of using ARM processors in ultraportable notebooks are obvious. They could deliver much better battery life and allow vendors to design very thin, passively cooled devices. The downside is equally obvious, no x86 and no Windows support, at least not yet.